Canadian taxpayers paying up to $3,348 in interest on government debt
A new report sheds light on how much Canadians could be paying in interest on federal and provincial government debt.
The Canadian public policy think-tank, the Fraser Institute, recently released its federal and provincial debt interest costs report for 2026, and the findings are concerning.
According to the report, taxpayers will pay a total of $94.4 billion on interest payments for the federal and provincial government debts in 2025/2026 alone. That’s between $1,845 and $3,348 per Canadian, depending on the province.
“Interest must be paid on government debt, and the more money governments spend on interest payments, the less money is available for the programs and services that matter to Canadians,” stated Jake Fuss, director of fiscal studies at the Fraser Institute and co-author of the report.
The study found that this year, the federal government will spend $54 billion on interest just for the federal debt. It said this is significantly more than what Ottawa expects to spend on the Canada Child Benefit and the Canada-wide Early Learning and Child Care benefit combined ($38.1 billion).
The Fraser Institute added that Ottawa’s debt interest costs this year are nearly as much as it will send to provinces in health care transfers ($54.7 billion).
The report listed how much this will cost each Canadian taxpayer.
Newfoundland and Labrador’s combined federal and provincial interest costs are the highest in the country at $3,348 per person. Manitoba is the next highest at $2,816 per person, while Alberta is the lowest in the country at $1,845 per person.
The Fraser Institute
The report also found that costs for Ontarians ($37.1 billion) and Quebecers ($22.1 billion) are nearly the same amount as the provinces expect to spend on K-12 education in their respective provinces this year.
“Governments across Canada continue to rack up large debts, which impose real costs on Canadians, not only in the form of future higher taxes to repay the debt, but also in high debt interest charges which must be paid by taxpayers,” explained Fuss.
“Money that goes to creditors as interest on government debt is money that is not available for other important priorities.”
Read the full report from the Fraser Institute.